C.J. Gardner-Johnson backs up talk in first year as Eagles safety

Greg Auman

NFC South Reporter

PHOENIX — Eagles defensive backs coach Dennard Wilson remembers the conversation with his general manager this offseason when Howie Roseman asked him plainly: What are we missing?

“I told him we need a bulldog,” Wilson said.

Roseman asked him to watch tape of Saints defensive back Chauncey “C.J.” Gardner-Johnson, thinking he might be that bulldog, and wanted Wilson to think on if he’d like to coach him.

“Coming into it, they were like, ‘Can you handle the person and the personality?'” Wilson said. “I said, ‘Bring him to me. It’s my job to keep him motivated. I’ll wrap my arms around him.’ And that’s what I did.”

On Aug. 30, the date NFL teams make their final cuts to set 53-man rosters, the Eagles made the bold move of trading for Gardner-Johnson, getting him inexpensively for a 2023 fifth-round pick and a swap of late-round picks in future drafts.

Fast-forward five months, and the Eagles are in the Super Bowl, and Gardner-Johnson tied for the NFL lead with six interceptions, the most by any Philadelphia player in nine years, despite him missing five games due to injury. The 25-year-old did this while learning a new position, playing safety for the Eagles after working primarily as a nickel corner with the Saints, and in 12 games managed to get more picks than he’d totaled in his first three NFL seasons.

“Anybody would want to be in this position, so it’s more humbling for me, because I’ve gotten to this stage by doing it the right way,” Gardner-Johnson said Wednesday, four days before his Eagles will face the Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII (Sunday, 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports App).

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Gardner-Johnson had an over-the-top personality in New Orleans, confident and talkative enough to get into other players’ heads, drawing punches from opponents and even teammates in his time with the Saints. That swagger came with him to Philadelphia, where head coach Nick Sirianni shared last month that the safety even playfully talks at him during practices.

“He’s going to talk,” Sirianni said. “He doesn’t just talk to the players. He talks to me sometimes, too. I always have to tell Chauncey: ‘Listen, I’m the head football coach. I’m for the defense and the offense. I know I’m standing over on the offensive side, but you’re over there talking s— to me, and I’m on both your guys’ sides.’ But he brings great energy, to the meeting room and to the football field.”

Earlier this season, Sirianni was asked which of his players was most like his own personality, and he suggested Gardner-Johnson. The two hugged on the sideline as the final seconds ticked away in Philadelphia’s NFC Championship Game win over the 49ers, and the coach cherished an emotional moment with a player headed to his first Super Bowl.

“I can think back to some of our wins this season, and celebrating with him on the sidelines, hugging him after the game,” Sirianni said. “It means a lot to me because the energy he has, the positivity he has, the love for the game he has. I’m so pleased that he’s on our team, and so happy that he’s back to health and in here every day. I told him I missed him when he was gone. He brings a lot of juice.”

Gardner-Johnson had interceptions in five straight games at one point this season, including two in a tone-setting win against the Cowboys. He missed five games with a lacerated kidney, returning at the end of the regular season, and helped fill in at nickel some when Avonte Maddox was out with injury.

“At the end of the day, Chauncey’s a playmaker,” said corner James Bradberry, another key newcomer in the secondary. “We’ve got a great front seven and that affects the safeties and the corners, ballhawks. And any time you get a guy on the back end who knows offensive schemes and how they’re trying to attack you and you really pressure the quarterback to force him into bad decisions, that’s a recipe for productivity. He’s definitely been doing well in our scheme here.”

He’s also reined himself in with better control on the field — he averaged seven penalties per year in New Orleans, leading the team in penalty yards in 2020. But he’s had just two flags all year with the Eagles, and none in the playoffs.

Gardner-Johnson credits his overall progress this season to Wilson, who has been a mentor to him and helped him stay within the Eagles’ system, trusting in the defense and not freelancing on his own, which can create openings for opponents to exploit.

“I’ve become a smarter player, and I understand who my teammates are,” Gardner-Johnson said. “Instead of forcing plays, I understand what’s coming to me and playing within each other and playing for my teammates is the best attribute I’ve had, becoming a team player.”

Asked if that wasn’t the case in New Orleans, Gardner-Johnson says “not really,” admitting he was “chasing plays” too often. Asked which teammates have helped him most in adjusting to a new team, he quickly drops eight names of fellow defensive backs who embraced him as a teammate and helped him learn a new system on the fly without the help of training camp.

Wilson said he has seen a personal growth in Gardner-Johnson, parallel with his emergence as a safety, and while he might have had issues in New Orleans, the Eagles haven’t seen any of that since he’s come to Philadelphia.

“Before we got him, you’d hear a lot of things about him, being wild and all this stuff,” Wilson said. “He’s been a total professional. He prepares. Chauncey will call you at 11 o’clock at night, myself or his teammates: ‘What do I have here?’ as he sends me a clip. He’s still growing at the position. It’s his first year playing safety, so he started off a little rough and had to get situated to it. He’s becoming a total player, in the run game, in the pass game, everything. He’s done a heck of a job that way.”

Gardner-Johnson has faced the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, in 2020 with the Saints when Kansas City was a defending champion. The Chiefs pulled out a 32-29 victory, and Gardner-Johnson played well, giving up three catches for 32 yards on 10 targets.

“Chauncey’s football character is through the roof,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon said. “He’s a guy who’s always continually trying to learn and improve his game. He’s been a great addition. He’s done that at a new position for him. We knew he had the skill set to move back, and he really proved us right.”

Gardner-Johnson will be a free agent next month, and he has raised his value by proving himself as a versatile safety. He said he hasn’t begun to think about free agency or whether he can return to the Eagles, who have a ton of players on expiring contracts and won’t be able to retain all of them. Gardner-Johnson knows he likes where he is right now, with a Super Bowl championship suddenly within his reach.

“It’s a league of change,” he said. “You have to understand where you are and adapt. And I’m only four years in. I really haven’t gotten to the best of myself. I’m still getting there.”

Greg Auman is FOX Sports’ NFC South reporter, covering the Buccaneers, Falcons, Panthers and Saints. He is in his 10th season covering the Bucs and the NFL full-time, having spent time at the Tampa Bay Times and The Athletic. You can follow him on Twitter at @gregauman.

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